A Palestinian physician and 5 Bulgarian nurses who, despite scientific evidence to the contrary, were convicted of deliberately infecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV were freed on July 24 after more than 8 years in prison. Their release was brought about by international pressure and negotiations between the European Union and the Libyan government.

After their release, the health workers were flown to Bulgaria, where they were immediately pardoned by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.